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Celebrate National Kale Day!
Oct 5 2015 - 11:11pm
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Angelic Organics's Kale

October 7th is National Kale Day!

Why celebrate kale? It is a delicious, awesome powerhouse of nutrients!
To help you celebrate National Kale Day, our staff shared some of our favorite kale recipes!

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Eat to Live Urban Incubator Farm
Sep 11 2015 - 1:12am
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Chicago
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Urban

Join us on Saturday, September 26 from 5:00-6:30 pm for the ribbon cutting, refreshments and tours of the grounds.

Launch or Expand Your Sustainable Farm
Sep 10 2015 - 12:20pm
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CRAFT
Farm Beginnings
Farmer Training
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Workshops

Applications still available for the 2015-16 Stateline Farm Beginnings! Check out our FANTASTIC new video and learn more about the course, as well as its impact on graduates...

Farewell to a Babe, Our Farm Matriarch
Aug 17 2015 - 11:32am
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On-Farm

We are sad to report that our beloved draft horse Babe passed away this past weekend on Farmer John's birthday. She was surrounded by people who loved her and the farm that sustained her. At 32 years, she was ancient by horse standards.

Roots & Wings Youth speak at 1st Annual City of Dubuque Sustainability Fair
Aug 13 2015 - 11:29pm
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By Donovin Lewis, Debora St.Fluerose & Ketura St.Fleurose

During the summer of 2015 there was an adventure quest to the City of Dubuque 1st Annual Sustainability Fair. The adventurers included three Youth Apprentices…

Soil Fertility Field Day
Aug 13 2015 - 3:38pm
Farmer Training
CRAFT
Farmer Training

By Bill Ladd-Cawthorne

It was a beautiful day to talk about soil fertility on Tuesday, August 11, at Sandhill Family Farms in Grayslake and Radical Root Farm in Libertyville, IL...

Farm Dinner Highlights
Jul 30 2015 - 12:01pm
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Goats

There was a magical feeling on Angelic Organics farm this past Saturday, July 25. The sun glistened on crops and brightly colored buildings as supporters, shareholders, farmers, and new friends gathered for a celebration of local food systems...

Eradicating Weeds with Natural Farm Stand
Jul 28 2015 - 3:00pm
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By Bill Ladd-Cawthorne

About a dozen Upper Midwest CRAFT farmers arrived for a field day at Natural Farm Stand in Richmond, IL, on Sunday, July 12. Natural Farm Stand is owned and operated by Sue and Gary Gauger on the farmland that Gary’s grandfather bought in 1923...

Passing the Torch
Jul 24 2015 - 8:00am
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Events
On-Farm
AO Farm
Farmer John
Funders
Organic farm, Angelic Organics, Angelic Organics Association, landtrust, Farmer John, Real Dirt on Farmer John

By Tom Spaulding, Executive Director

Just before the Shareholder Open House on Saturday, July 18 we held a brief reception and recognition for the outgoing members of the Angelic Organics North LLC. In November 2014, the torch was passed to an incoming group of families in cooperation with the newly formed Angelic Organics Association, a community land trust dedicated to protecting the land in perpetuity for organic/Biodynamic agriculture, farming education and land conservation.

In 1998, 27 families, mostly shareholders of Angelic Organics CSA farm, combined their resources and purchased 39.25 acres of farmland adjacent to Angelic Organics CSA...

Deepening Children’s Connection to Nature at Angelic Organics Learning Center
Jun 25 2015 - 1:29pm
On-Farm

This post originally appeared on the Biodynamics Association blog.

By guest blogger Erin Schneider

There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air is softer and the morning more fragrant than ever again. — Elizabeth Lawrence

This May I had the good fortune to accompany the third grade class from Prairie Hill Waldorf School on an overnight farm trip to Angelic Organics Learning Center in Caledonia, IL. The trip was the culmination of a year spent expanding their knowledge of the earth and the role that plants, animals, and humans serve...

What Links Us
Jun 22 2015 - 8:55am
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Bless the spirit that makes connections,

for truly we live in what we imagine.

Clocks move alongside our real life

with steps that are ever the same.

Act Now: Help Craft the Farmer Training Initiative!
Jun 5 2015 - 9:30am
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Farmer Training
Farm Beginnings

Act Now to Lend Your Voice to the Strategic Direction of the Farmer Training Initiative
 
Angelic Organics Learning Center is shaping its next 3-year strategic plan for the years 2016-2018, and we would be grateful if you would share any insights you may have about our mission and programs as well as the changing landscape of the food and farm system that impacts our work.
 
The objectives for this feedback are to gather input regarding

1) the Learning Center Farmer Training Initiative's current mission and programs; and

2) possible future strategic directions for it.
 
Farmer Training's...

Lessons in Giving, Goodness & Grace
May 22 2015 - 11:07am
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Partners&Friends
Urban

It was the winter of 2002 when Sally Sommers opened her first newsletter from Angelic Organics Learning Center at her home in Villa Park. She was intrigued by the on-farm workshops and thought it might be the perfect location for her annual family reunion. She called Tom Spaulding, executive director and co-founder of the Learning Center. Tom obliged, and the Sommers family headed out to the farm!

The Learning Center is located on Angelic Organics Farm, a third generation farm located in Caledonia, Illinois, that is also home to one of the largest CSA...

Young Professionals' Association Eat to Live Garden Day of Service
May 15 2015 - 12:15am
Events
Urban
Chicago

Join the Young Professionals' Association of Angelic Organics Learning Center in the garden for a day of service.

We will start with a tour of the space, where volunteers will learn more about the history of the site, the practices utilized, and the programs offered to the community. This will be followed by the group completing garden tasks. Wear weather-appropriate clothing and bring your garden gloves (tools will be provided).

Where: Eat to Live Englewood Urban Garden and...

The Real Dirt on On-Farm Educators: Dave
May 8 2015 - 10:53am
On-Farm

Dave is one of our original on-farm educators! He teaches all kinds of groups at the farm, as well as running his own market garden with his partner, Cindy, who is also an on-farm educator. Read on to learn more about him!

The Real Dirt on On-Farm Educators: Katie
May 5 2015 - 9:17am
On-Farm

We were so glad to welcome Katie Townsend to our on-farm educator team this spring! Learn more about Katie's background in outdoor education and the Learning Center below.

“Tools & Machinery” Field Day
May 4 2015 - 1:20pm
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Farmer Training
Peter Seely, Springdale Farm, CRAFT

Winter briefly returned with cold winds and snow flurries for our past Field Day, but that did not stop fifteen CRAFT farmers from visiting Springdale Farm in Plymouth, WI, to learn about tools and machinery from farmer Peter Seely.

Peter Seely, Springdale Farm, CRAFT Bernadette and Peter Seely started Springdale farm in 1988 after spending a number of years together in Holland. Before leaving Europe, they packed several shipping containers with tools and machinery (including some seldom-seen items such as a leek lifter and a steerage hoe) to commence an almost thirty-year process of constant experimentation. Peter says that “equipment...

Get a Sneak Peak at our Let's Grow Calendar & Newsletter!
May 4 2015 - 12:09pm
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On-Farm
Wild edibles, wild crafting, Angelic Organics Learning Center

Our Summer/Fall 2015 Let's Grow Calendar and Newsletter is at the printer, but you can get a sneak peak of it now! We are excited to offer many of our favorite classes again this year - like Cheesemaking and Animal Day for Families - but we also have many brand new offerings!

Protect Your Flock from Avian Influenza
Apr 30 2015 - 1:55pm
AOLC General
Chickens
Hot Topics

Unfortunately, bird flu is in the news again..and it's a serious concern for all poultry owners in the Mississippi Flyway, which includes Illinois. A strain of highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), variant H5N2, has been discovered in numerous Midwestern states within the past month or so. This virus has not been transmitted to people or entered the food supply, but literally millions of chickens and turkeys have already died or been euthanized due to this disease. It has affected both large commercial operations and small backyard flocks, so it's time for every poultry owner in Illinois to take precautions and begin...

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